The 7 Worlds of Gaiana

(I liked your idea James, and Xen writes in a journal so most of my posts will be like thisnow)

Day 7 of training

Well today was kinda uneventful… We really just focused on fighting and sparing… I still can’t really get my form right and I fell on my face a couple times, but there were a lot of other people that did so I didn’t feel too bad. Anyway, I started to realize I need a better place to work on my gadgets. Turns out that only a bed and a side table isn’t a good area for tinkering. Also my tinkering is attracting attention of the other recruits and its making me kinda uncomfortable…

Still looking for this Nana person. I checked the ports today but came up empty again. Hopefully if she’s out there she isn’t in any trouble… Honestly I feel really bad about this, even if this is because of a curse, it was too easy to forget about someone like that… I hope she comes back soon, I’ll probably forget about this in the morning and have to think about all this again. Well, let’s just hope for a good day tomorrow. G’night :)

Day 12

Hey, so today I finally decided to ask the blacksmith about using some of his workshop for creating my gadgets. I’ve been kinda scouting around and thought it was the best place to do it but I’ve been too scared to ask about it, but I finally got up the courage to ask. He said YES XD, but for a favor. Not too much to ask I guess. He looked me over and then after he saw Owlsly he said he wanted me to make something like Owlsly for his son. I mean I was hesitant at first because Owlsly had been a big project that took me more than a year, but having already done it and having access to his workshop I could probably do it in a week or 2… more like 2. Maybe 3…. Umm we’ll see. But I said yes and he asked if it could be a mechanical dog, didn’t seem too bad so I said sure. I starting making blueprints today and have a good idea of where I’m going with this, can’t wait to begin!

Other than that, I gave up the search for Nana… I read that I’ve already looked everywhere for her and now it would probably just try to remember her with nowhere else to look. Sorry Nana.. I wish I could remember you or I knew where you went. No one deserves to be forgotten. I hope I’m not crazy…. Here’s to hoping for another good day tomorrow. :D

Day 23

Today was kinda rough. I worked really late in the workshop last night, so late that I fell asleep in the workshop. I woke up late for training this morning and got reprimanded… I almost cried, but the blacksmith Nezeros came over to explain that I was working on something for him so Aldwyn wasn’t too angry. I still had to do twice the amount of exercises today though… everyone kept looking at me like they felt sorry for me.. I didn’t like that… I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. It was my fault, I was just too focused on my work. I’ll make sure to keep better track of time in the future… I have to go to sleep though, my body aches and I feel like I’m going to collapse.

Remember Nana. G’night..

Day 32

So project A.M.C. (Automated Mechanical Companion (I think it’s a cool name)) is taking a lot longer than expected but Nezeros said he understands and thinks it’s looking great. I felt good about that. I’m happy I could at least make at least one person happy here. I feel like I’m not really getting any better at combat. A sword just doesn’t feel good in my hands. I don’t like hurting people unless I have to… like back on that island. We haven’t talked about that day in a while… I sometimes try to talk to Garuk about it… We don’t talk too much though and he’s always around…. Ard… ew.. He’s a creep. All he ever does is try to hit on all the girls around the barracks. Most of them just walk away disgusted, others ya know… kick him hard between the legs. I thought about doing that but I don’t want to hurt anyone, even a sleezebag like him that probably deserves it. Either way it’s getting late and I don’t want to wake up tired.. Here’s to a good day tomorrow :).

G’night Nana wherever you may be.

Day 45

I’m finally almost finished with The A.M.C. like within the next week I should have him done. I’m gonna call this one Ace. I remember one of the books I read had a dog named that… I haven’t read it in a while, I think the book was about a guy who dressed as a bat or something, I can’t remember. Either way I’m trying to keep it more of a secret from Nezeros. I told him I wanted its final look to be a surprise. I really hope his son likes it :)

In my spare time today though, I made a couple blueprints of future designs and dug up some of my old blueprints to work on now that I have a well-stocked place to work. Not sure how I’ll make a fire laser but I’m sure with the right components and enough work I can build it. Today was a good day though, hopefully tomorrow will be good too.

I wonder if anyone will remember you again Nana, myself included.. I really hope I didn’t just make you up….

G’night

Day 51

So today was the great unveiling of Ace. Nezeros brought in his son, who was about 5 or 6 years old, to see him. I took off the sheet and activated Ace and he worked perfectly! He loved it! Ace wasn’t very large, only about 2 feet tall but he acted like a normal dog. I decided to try something new and add a device that allows him to bark like a real dog. They were really happy and impressed. I some of the other recruits came over to see what I made too and they were really impressed. Nezeros’ son was ecstatic about it, hugging it as if it was a real dog, ignoring the fact that it was made of metal. He actually said that I was Awesome…. No one ever said that before.. I’m really happy… I actually almost cried… I’m happy that someone actually loved what I can make, especially after all the work I put into it. I was like back in Dew Drop Landing all over again. I wish everyday could be like this. Nezeros even invited me over for dinner with his family. It was nice, because I knew Nezeros I felt more comfortable and the food was great, his wife is a really good cook. Tomorrow I can begin work on some of my new ideas and the blueprints I’ve been wanting to make for a while, the first one I wanna work on it this grenade that explodes into a big spider web kinda thing. Can’t wait :D!!

Hope me writing this part helps me soon remember Nana… G’Night

Day 64

Today wasn’t a good day, not at all. I mean some of it was good. I was actually able put another recruit on his back today in combat training. I felt proud of myself. Then I immediately felt kinda bad, but Razz, at least I think that was his name, said he was alright and got right back up congratulating me. We kept sparing for a little while until something bad happened.. I don’t even want to talk about it…… but I will. So.. we were sparing and I messed up and he swung his sword at me and it caught onto my scarf.. my scarf was thrown off and he saw it.. he saw my scales on my neck… at first I didn’t realize it, then he stopped kinda shocked. He said something like “Are you ok? What’s up with your skin?”. I looked down and realized what he was talking about.. I couldn’t say anything back… I just said sorry.. I said I was done for today.. I grabbed my scarf and ran. I think he tried to run after me but I couldn’t tell. I was starting to feel scared and anxious. I’m sure he’s already told everyone else about me, they’ll think I have a disease or something, they’ll think I’m weird and not wanna talk to me anymore, maybe they’ll tell me i shouldn’t be here at the Mason’s… I just… I don’t want that happen… I like it here… I don’t want it to turn out like back home…

Someone’s calling for me….

It was Razz… he found me at the workshop, he said he was sorry… I don’t know why he would need to be sorry. He said he wouldn’t tell anyone about what he saw if I didn’t want him to… that made me feel a bit better. He’s pretty nice… He asked me what it was, I said I didn’t want to talk about it and he actually understood. He said that if I wanted to talk about it he would listen. It seemed like he wanted to say more but didn’t and left after that… I didn’t really want him to leave… he was really nice to me… no one ever said that to me before, but I guess a lot of things I’ve been told here I’ve never been told before.. I’m gonna go back to the barracks… it’s been a long day… G’night… maybe tomorrow will be better and less.. I don’t know…

After the Harvest Festival, we were all on our way to the grand fortress of the Masons. It appeared though, our training would start sooner rather than later. After being told such, there were more than a few among our ranks who were dissatisfied with such news. Aldwyn thought it prudent to have a show of force. He almost hit Lord Chalmire with his weapon. I swear to the Gods if he had hit him…

That’s beside the point. We were taught the rules to survive and made our way to a floating piece of rock that would serve as our first test. I immediately scrawled an Akashic record and we continued further into the island. Our mission was to retrieve an artifact in the center. The team consisted of myself, Garuk, Erdan and Xen.

I’ll go ahead and skip the nightmares that followed.

Let’s just say we all lost out minds for a bit.

We made it to the center a little worse for the wear. I spotted eyes watching us and upon casting a little light on them, they attacked. We dispatched them with a bit of effort and discovered that the relic we were to retrieve was replaced with “the eye of Vecna.” Shortly after I learned a valuable lesson.

People suck.

While showing just a little bit of mercy and not letting someone slowly burn to death, she cursed me. Not your average every day swear words, but an honest to Gods curse. Since then I’ve been easily forgettable. Well that is to say, no one remembers I exist. I’ve tried everything in my power to try and fix this, but everyone around me just so happen to be the most skeptical people in existence. With everything the Masons deal with, you’d think they’d be more open minded. I quickly realized I would receive no aid from them when a CLERIC of all people thought I was a simple stowaway.

I was left alone and forgotten in a dungeon for twenty four hours. The dungeon had very good locks. When I finally escaped I was met by a hooded man. Naturally I was on guard, but he seemed very aware of my situation. He gave me at first what I thought was the most roundabout way in existence to kill myself, but given his oddly specific instructions, I figured I might as well be open minded.

See? It’s not THAT hard.

I followed his instructions to a T and found gold and a ring. No he did not propose to me, he simply made a proposal I couldn’t refuse. After taking his hand I was pulled away into a hidden place. Now I will strike from the record any dealings I’ve had with this man at the risk of spilling secrets bigger than myself. All I can say is that I will find a way to break this curse, but perhaps I can do some good while it afflicts me.

I’ve grown accustomed to the stuffy and tense atmosphere of most noble gatherings, but I was pleasantly surprised with Dew Drop Landing. Nobles and non nobles mixing together so well was truly a sight to behold. I found it quite amusing at how uncomfortable some of the nobles seemed to be all dressed up in peasant garb. Honestly I wish I could’ve commissioned an artist for a few portraits.

Sadly, I couldn’t enjoy the festival too much. A maid must be ever vigilant and honestly whenever I look away from Erdan for even a moment he finds a way to embarrass himself and his name in increasingly creative ways. He got drunk on a wine that is nearly impossible to get drunk on…

Children aside, I DID enjoy myself and get a bit of work done as well. I got a good bit of blackmail on Eto Elaizon. Either her husband suddenly chanced race and look, or she was with another man. I swear most nobles think they can just change clothes and be completely inconspicuous. Either way it works for me. I’ll definitely use this as leverage next we meet.

I also managed to make a friend in Mavis, a cook who serves the Masons. I helped her acquire a spice, not very well known apparently. I also took the liberty to restock the kitchen with several other spices and flavorings. Mavis enjoyed this immensely.

It was the last day there when I finally decided to let Erdan suffer whatever fate his buffoonery brings him. The half orc fellow named Garuk brought me a drink. I decided ‘why the hell not’ and challenged him to a drinking contest.

Naturally I won.

The next day there was a huge feast and I had to, once again, keep Erdan from making a huge fool of himself. Shortly after we were all brought aboard the ship and we set off for our training.

The Eye of Vecna

We had been traveling for a couple days before we finally reached the island where we would have our first test to see if we were worthy of becoming Masons. Aldwyn called for all the new recruits to the stern of the ship for a quick lesson. We lined up and told us about the Akashic Record, a promise that is made between the land and the people who write it to keep the world from taking control of themselves. Ingraved as follows: “My mind is my own, My body is my own. I shall not harm this land and it shall not harm me.” The last section being optional. If this promise is broken the land no longer will have any restraint towards aggressive behavior. After explaining this to the new recruits he briefed us on our first test.

We were left on an island, our only objective was to find the “Relic” that was somewhere in the center of the island. So with nothing else to go on, we ingraved the Akashic record on a nearby rock and started moving towards the center of the island. The forest was thick and we struggled though without a path. As we traveled deeper into the island, madness started to take hold. Nana suddenly hears a scream, she believes it to be her father and instinctively begins running towards it. Everyone else chases after her confused as to why she has sudden become so frantic. Nana soon calmed down, but only after 2 attempts to restrain her, realizing that it was the forest messing with her head. After another bit of traveling Garuk becomes afflicted by the forest’s hallucinations. He see’s his mother dead sitting by a tree. He becomes convinced that one of us or he himself killed her. Garuk begins to freak out and Nana decides to hide and watch from the shadows. Xen starts to try to calm him down but in his confused state he begins to attack Her, striking her with his flail. Looking frightened she backs up to the tree and puts her hand on it doing her best to show him that there isn’t anything there and that the forest is messing with his head. Luckily Garuk finally comes to his senses and realizes that there isn’t anything there. Xen patches herself up a bit and they continue onwards, more aware of themselves and the tricks the forest is playing on them. (WIP) -Nick

The Harvest Festival at Dew Drop Landing

We began our journey leaving the Mason sky ship on to Dew Drop Landing. Everything was decorated for the festival, nobles from all over Gaiana have gather together to take part in the festivities. Each member of our party went off to enjoy themselves. Xen went off to sight see while Ard and Garuk enjoyed the festivities, Nana stalking behind Ard to keep him in check.

Most of the day was spent drinking and eating the foods all mixed with the special Dew Drop Berry, which pretty much “tastes like happy” as Ard put it. While the others enjoyed themselves drinking Xen went off on her own to see the Dew Berry fields on the second day. She was looking at some of the magical farming equipment when one of the land owners noticed her and struck up a conversation about the machines they use. After hearing that Xen was pretty good at making and repairing machines he asked if she could look at an old machine that hasnt been working for some time. Xen was happy to help and went to work.

She worked on it all day and into the night, seemingly engrossed in her work. When she finally finished she set it up and it roared to life for the first time in many years. The farmer was extremely grateful for Xen’s help and insisted on letting her stay until the festivals end. Xen was caught off guard and uncomfortable with the praise but couldn’t refuse. He also wanted to truely repay her for what she did and decided on giving her one of his special bottles of what was essentially Dew Berry moonshine. Though Xen didn’t drink much she could tell it meant a lot to him and accepted it. For the rest of that week she stayed in a guest room in the farmers house, meeting his wife and daughter and being accepted as almost family.

The night before the last day of the festival Xen decided that she wanted to try the “Dewberryshine” that she had gotten. She poured herself only one shot of it, but it was too much for her. It was so strong that it made her overly confident and she starting doing things she almost would never normally do; dancing, and acting extremely charismatic the whole night. Ard saw this as his chance and started flirting with her but even though the “drunkness” Xen could see his advances and did her best to skirt away from him. When she started to sober up she realized everything she was doing and left the party extremely embarrassed, going back to her temporary lodging.

The last day of the festival concluded with a huge feast that went on thoughout the entire town. Aldwyn gave a speech to the new Mason recruits before giving a toast to us giving our lives to a better cause. It was at this time that it became more and more appearent to Xen that becoming and being a Mason is much more dangerous than she originally thought. The next morning everyone got on the ship and headed out to become part of the Masons.